About
The Problem: The Water
- One of the major social problems we found in doing research was the lack of clean water in impoverished areas worldwide.
- Water is a necessary part of life and it should be an available resource to everyone.
- For many people, the nearest accessible water is miles away on foot and for some, these water sources do not provide clean water.
- Dirty water can cause waterborne illnesses, which are very difficult to cure without proper healthcare.
The Requirements
- Must ensure that water is clean and safe to drink after processing.
- Must make water a more portable and easily transportable substance.
- Must be a durable and cost-effective solution.
- We would like to create a solution that will also provide entertainment for children.
The Restraints
- Our biggest restraint is the size of the ball. We want to maximize the amount of water the ball can hold, however we also want to ensure that the ball rolls easily.
Research
- There are many organizations that work to transport and purify water in impoverished areas; therefore, there are many solution attempts regarding water filltration. The solutions are sationary filtration stations which is why we decided to create a filtration station in the form of a soccer ball which is easily portable. One of the main oranizations working on for this issue is Charity Water. Charity Water services many different needs but one of their main focuses is water filtration; to do this, they use BioSand Filters which consist of layers of sand and microbacterial film that filter out contaminants.